Comments on: 18% (OK, fine, 20) http://www.mitchmagee.com/blog/2006/06/07/18-ok-fine-20/ Just another WordPress weblog Sat, 04 Feb 2012 02:05:57 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1.2 By: Doc http://www.mitchmagee.com/blog/2006/06/07/18-ok-fine-20/comment-page-1/#comment-866 Doc Mon, 24 Jul 2006 16:14:05 +0000 http://www.mitchmagee.com/blog/2006/06/07/18-ok-fine-20/#comment-866 I would go one further: have tax included, too. Think of all the bullshit that would be eliminated if at payment time you said, "Well, I got the Pork Tartare for $21.32 and the boiled oysters to start at $9.03. Add $5.31 for my glass of Pouilly-Fuissé, and I owe $35.66. Make it an even $36." Okay, so the odd numbers with cents and all makes it a little confusing, but easier than having people calculate tax and tip in their heads. Invariably, someone forgets that tax amounts to almost $1 on every $10, and then there is awkwardness. Here's the problem. If we take this further, then restaurants should just pay their staff for real, but then they would get minimum wage or something, and then it's terrifically awful. Raise the minimum wage. Oh, my head hurts. I can't solve the world's problems just now. Until the world's problems are solved, folks, here's my trick for figuring tax and tip with a group. $2.80 for every $10 you spend includes tax plus about a 20% tip. If you want to go 15%, use $2.30 for every $10. If you want to make life super easy on yourself, go $2.50 for every ten. That's easy because you just divide what you owe by four and slap that on top of your bill. If you go with the $2.80, the trick (not supereasy, but a good exercise of your brain) is to multiply by 3, divide by 10, then subtract from that the total time 2 over 100. I'm a rambling idiot this morning. All mornings? All the time? I would go one further: have tax included, too. Think of all the bullshit that would be eliminated if at payment time you said, “Well, I got the Pork Tartare for $21.32 and the boiled oysters to start at $9.03. Add $5.31 for my glass of Pouilly-Fuissé, and I owe $35.66. Make it an even $36.” Okay, so the odd numbers with cents and all makes it a little confusing, but easier than having people calculate tax and tip in their heads. Invariably, someone forgets that tax amounts to almost $1 on every $10, and then there is awkwardness.

Here’s the problem. If we take this further, then restaurants should just pay their staff for real, but then they would get minimum wage or something, and then it’s terrifically awful. Raise the minimum wage. Oh, my head hurts. I can’t solve the world’s problems just now.

Until the world’s problems are solved, folks, here’s my trick for figuring tax and tip with a group. $2.80 for every $10 you spend includes tax plus about a 20% tip. If you want to go 15%, use $2.30 for every $10. If you want to make life super easy on yourself, go $2.50 for every ten. That’s easy because you just divide what you owe by four and slap that on top of your bill. If you go with the $2.80, the trick (not supereasy, but a good exercise of your brain) is to multiply by 3, divide by 10, then subtract from that the total time 2 over 100.

I’m a rambling idiot this morning. All mornings? All the time?

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